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I take back everything negative and derogatory I've said to anyone on this site. Boutons, I love you.
Holy Smokes, glad she doesn't post on here, we all may be
in trouble.
Jury awards $11.3M over defamatory Internet posts
Updated 10/11/2006 10:51 AM ET
By Laura Parker, USA TODAY
A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud."
Legal analysts say the Sept. 19 award by a jury in Broward County, Fla. — first reported Friday by the Daily Business Review — represents the largest such judgment over postings on an Internet blog or message board. Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida law professor who specializes in free-speech issues, calls the award "astonishing."
BEWARE OF BLOGS: Courts are asked to crack down on bloggers, websites
Lidsky says the case could represent a coming trend in court fights over online messages because the woman who won the damage award, Sue Scheff of Weston, Fla., pursued the case even though she knew the defendant, Carey Bock of Mandeville, La., has no hope of paying such an award. Bock, who had to leave her home for several months because of Hurricane Katrina, couldn't afford an attorney and didn't show up for the trial.
"What's interesting about this case is that (Scheff) was so vested in being vindicated, she was willing to pay court costs," Lidsky says. "They knew before trial that the defendant couldn't pay, so what's the point in going to the jury?"
Scheff says she wanted to make a point to those who unfairly criticize others on the Internet. "I'm sure (Bock) doesn't have $1 million, let alone $11 million, but the message is strong and clear," Scheff says. "People are using the Internet to destroy people they don't like, and you can't do that."
The dispute between the two women arose after Bock asked Scheff for help in withdrawing Bock's twin sons from a boarding school in Costa Rica. Bock had disagreed with her ex-husband over how to deal with the boys' behavior problems. Against Bock's wishes, he had sent the boys to the boarding school.
Scheff, who operates a referral service called Parents Universal Resource Experts, says she referred Bock to a consultant who helped Bock retrieve her sons. Afterward, Bock became critical of Scheff and posted negative messages about her on the Internet site Fornits.com, where parents with children in boarding schools for troubled teens confer with one another.
In 2003, Scheff sued Bock for defamation. Bock hired a lawyer, but he left the case when she no longer could afford to pay him.
When Katrina hit in August 2005, Bock's house was flooded and she moved temporarily to Texas before returning to Louisiana last June. Court papers that Scheff and her attorney David H. Pollack mailed to Bock were returned to Pollack's office in Miami.
After Bock didn't offer a defense, a Broward Circuit Court judge found in favor of Scheff. A jury then heard Scheff's arguments about damages. Pollack did not seek a specific amount for the harm he says Scheff's business suffered.
"Even with no opposing counsel and no defendant there, $11 million is a huge amount," says Pollack, adding that Scheff is considering whether to try to collect any money from Bock. "The jury determined this was a significant enough issue. It's not just somebody's feelings are hurt; it's somebody's reputation is ruined."
Bock says that when she moved back to her repaired house over the summer, she knew the trial was approaching but did not know the date. She says she doesn't have the money to pay the judgment or hire a lawyer to appeal it. She adds that if the goal of Scheff's lawsuit was to stifle what Bock says online, it worked.
"I don't feel like I can express my opinions," Bock says. "Only one side of the story was told in court. Nobody heard my side."
I take back everything negative and derogatory I've said to anyone on this site. Boutons, I love you.
I guess it is better to be a teen and talk on myspace about teachers.
You won't catch me saying, "If you don't like what I have to say, sue me", anytime soon.
Last edited by JoeChalupa; 10-11-2006 at 11:26 AM.
On a serious note, I can see where a ruling like this wouldn't necessarily refer to us.
I'm only guessing here, but Bock probably referred to Scheff by name and there could be legitimate harm to Scheff by Bock's statements (people not trusting her anymore, losing business or reputation, etc.).
Just because I say Yonivore has a sandy vagina or Boutons is a crackpot doesn't irreperably harm them (probably since very few of us know each other outside this digital world).
Now, let's say I knew exactly who Yonivore was and knew that people who could affect him in other ways posted here and I said (I was going to use the name "John Smith," but can't now, so let's say Yoni's name is John Doe), "John Doe is a child molester with a sandy vagina."
Well, then, I could probably have a defemation suit against me since that was essentially a statement of fact that could portray Mr. Doe in a bad light.
When I would call Vashner a bag, well, he can't obviously be a bag. Figuratively, he can be one; literally, no.
But again, as with all legal thoughts, I enact the FWD Clause. I will stand by my statements until FWD calls me a goof and corrects me.
I knew you post in this thread. So then you think it is okay for students to create phony myspace accounts to ridicule their teachers when they use the teacher's actual photo? Just asking. I don't think they do.
Or are they protected by freedom of expression since they are doing off campus?
That was the funniest I've read on this site yet.
As I said in that thread, if real defamatory harm can be done based on that (forgoing satirical thoughts), then feel free to sue them in a civil fashion.
If the student is saying the teacher is a bag, well, that can be proven false. Can real harm be done to teachers by students? Yes. Is it always and absolute? No.
And I also believe my argument in that thread was schools regulating off-campus blogs/postings.
Yeah, I remember. Good points. Oh, and can you PM me your blog site. I want to keep up on your career, not that I'm stalking but my oldest daughter has shown some great interest in jounalism. Thanks!
And as with all things, freedom of speech is fine, but there can be consequences privately.
The school is essentially a government en y (being funded publically) and the government can't restrict speech (save for the public employee conundrum).
It's on my profile.
A great book to get her if she's showing an interest is...
Letters to a Young Journalist
They also have it at the Borders by The Quarry (that's where I bought my copy).
Thanks!
Parodies are protected, but not defamation. It's not a clear line between them though. The student will be in trouble in either case. It's just a matter of how much. Schools that don't discipline students that badmouth their teachers aren't going to be good schools.
^I concur.
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